This is the Saint Louis Science Center’s NIGHT SKY UPDATE for the week of Tuesday, November 14. All times are given as local St. Louis time (Central Standard Time). For definitions of terminology used in the night sky update, click the highlighted text.

Information updated weekly or as needed.

Join us for our next star party, Friday, December 1, 2017 held in association with the St. Louis Astronomical Society. For details, see the information at the bottom of this page.

The Sun and the Moon<.h4>

Sunrise is at 6:42 a.m. on Tuesday, November 14 and sunset is at 4:48 p.m. providing us with a little over 10 hours of daylight. Even after sunset, the light from the sun will still dimly illuminate our sky for a bit less than 1.5 hours. This period of time is called twilight, which ends around 6:20 p.m. this week. For those with a sun dial, solar transit or local noon occurs around 11:46 a.m. this week.

Day

Sunrise

Sunset

14 Nov

6:42 a.m.

4:48 p.m.

15 Nov

6:43 a.m.

4:48 p.m.

16 Nov

6:45 a.m.

4:47 p.m.

17 Nov

6:46 a.m.

4:46 p.m.

18 Nov

6:47 a.m.

4:46 p.m.

19 Nov

6:48 a.m.

4:45 p.m.

20 Nov

6:49 a.m.

4:44 p.m.

21 Nov

6:50 a.m.

4:44 p.m.

22 Nov

6:51 a.m.

4:43 p.m.

Moonrise for Tuesday, November 14 occurs at 2:47 a.m. and moonset will occur at 3:10 p.m. On Tuesday, November 14 the moon will be exhibiting a waning crescent phase with about 13% of the lunar disk illuminated. New moon occurs on November 18.

International Space Station (ISS) Observing

Visible passes of ISS from St. Louis for the week of November 14 occur in the morning hours. The best of these occur on the mornings of November 15, 17 and 18. Use the table below for information about these and other visible passes of ISS this week.

Mercury’s last evening apparition of 2017 has started. Over the next two weeks the elusive planet will climb out of the glow of twilight reaching its greatest eastern elongation on November 23. Currently Mercury is not an ideal target but as November progresses start looking for it about 30 minutes after sunset low in the west. This is not the best apparition for Mercury so it will remain difficult to see for the duration of the entire apparition.

Venus

The second planet from the sun can be found in the morning just before sunrise. Venus rises around 5:35 which is about an hour before sunrise. As bright as Venus is you should still be able to see it about 30 minutes before sunrise but be careful as you don’t want to accidentally look at the Sun. Start looking for Venus low in the east around 6:00 a.m.

Mars

The red planet has started another apparition and can be found rising in the east by 3:34 a.m. Mars will visible low in the east around 4:30 a.m. Each week Mars will rise a little earlier than the week before as we approach the 2018 Mars opposition which occurs on July 27.

Saturn is head towards the end of another apparition. It will set by 6:48 p.m. but you can still see it in the southwest by 5:30 p.m. Superior conjunction with Saturn is on December 21 so we will soon lose Saturn to the Sun’s glare.

Our next Star Party will be held on Friday, December 1, 2017, from dusk until 10 p.m.

As part of the Saint Louis Science Center’s First Fridays, weather permitting, the St. Louis Astronomical Society and the Science Center will set up a number of telescopes outdoors and be on-hand to answer your questions. Telescope viewing begins once it is dark. Regardless of the weather on December 1, join us indoors in our planetarium theater for “The Sky Tonight”. Showtime is at 7 p.m.

This free, indoor star program will introduce you to the current night sky, the planets, and the seasonal constellations. Doors open 15 minutes before show time. Shows begins at 7 p.m. Sorry, no late admissions due to safety issues in the darkened theater.

The St. Louis Astronomical Society helps host the monthly Star Parties at the Saint Louis Science Center which are held on the first Friday of each month. Our Monthly Star Parties are open to the public and free of charge.